Start an RSS reading list you can finish.

Start with five sources and one question

Choose a question you want your reading to help answer. For example: “Which changes could affect the way I write and review work?” Pick a small mix of sources: an original documentation feed where available, an independent publication, a practitioner and a topic you read for pleasure. Five is a starting constraint for this experiment, not a proven optimum.

Keep a note beside each source explaining why it belongs. If you cannot name its job, leave it out for now. You can add a source later without trying to reconstruct every article you missed.

Add the feed, then check one item

Choose a feed reader you already have access to. Look for a publication’s RSS link, copy its feed URL and use the reader’s add-feed or subscribe control. Names vary by reader. Thunderbird’s documentation is one concrete example of a feed-subscription workflow.

For this publication, the address ends in /feed.xml. It contains the article titles, summaries and links. Open one item and confirm that it takes you to the full article. A feed URL is meant for a reader; in an ordinary browser you may see XML instead of a styled page.

Give the queue a stopping rule

Try two reading sessions in the first week. During a session, choose one article to read fully, one to save if it answers a real question, and let the rest remain unread. There is no obligation to finish the count.

Write one sentence about the article you finish: “This changes…” or “I still need to check…” If the article is just interesting, say that. The note helps distinguish a useful insight from the habit of collecting links. Do not turn every note into a new task.

Review the list after a week

Ask which sources helped answer your question, repeated material you had already seen or published more than you could use. Remove a feed without treating that as a verdict on the author. You are choosing a manageable reading list for your current work.

If your reader supports folders or tags, keep the structure small: work, later and pleasure may be enough. Before changing readers, check whether it can export your subscriptions, often as OPML. Test an export rather than assuming your list will be portable.

The seven-day experiment

• Write one reading question.
• Add up to five sources and test one item from each.
• Schedule two short reading sessions.
• Keep one useful note from each session.
• Remove or pause sources that did not earn a place.
• Keep the routine only if it helps you choose what to read.

Use this next

• Copy or open this publication’s RSS feed
• Choose a question before adding another feed